Bravo to the New York Times editorial page, which has lately been showing a real taste for hard truths when it comes to the presidential race. Today’s lengthy, multi-part editorial is entitled “Truth and Lies about Medicare.” The sub-heading, which appears in print but not in the online version, reads:

Don’t believe most of what Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are saying

It’s a remarkable event when a major newspaper calls a major-party candidate for president a liar, yet that seems to be exactly what just happened. And, sadly, it’s well-deserved in the case of Medicare, as the NYT explains at length. You should read the whole thing; here’s a bit of the introduction to give you a taste:

Republican attacks on President Obama’s plans for Medicare are growing more heated and inaccurate by the day. Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan made statements last week implying that the Affordable Care Act would eviscerate Medicare when in fact the law should shore up the program’s finances.

Both men have also twisted themselves into knots to distance themselves from previous positions, so that voters can no longer believe anything they say. Last week, both insisted that they would save Medicare by pumping a huge amount of money into the program, a bizarre turnaround for supposed fiscal conservatives out to rein in federal spending.

The likelihood that they would stand by that irresponsible pledge after the election is close to zero.